About

$253,834

1,615

backers

*** We've fully funded! The entire Emma series will be dubbed and on blu-ray!! ***

WE HAVE ADDED ADDITIONAL STRETCH GOALS, PLEASE SEE THEM BELOW! MORE AWESOME UPGRADES OT THE BOOK!

NOTE: ANY PLEDGE OF ANY SIZE MADE BEFORE THE END GETS YOU ACCESS TO THE POST-CAMPAIGN OPTIONS. SEE UPDATE#17 HERE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/160939828/lets-dub-emma-a-victorian-romance-anime-tv-series/posts/2318596

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Join this campaign to help create an English Dubbed HD release for ALL of the anime series Emma A Victorian Romance!

In 19th-century London, class lines are sharply drawn, and the social standing to which people are born dictates the path their lives will follow. Emma, an honest and hardworking young maid, never felt her place in life to be a burden. But then she met William, a member of the gentry and the eldest son of a wealthy family. His warm smile and earnest affection threaten to capture her heart... but can love truly conquer all?

This fantastic Victorian tale of an upstairs, downstairs romance is the anime adaptation of Kaoru Mori’s amazing manga of the same name which was honored with an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival. Kaoru Mori went to extensive lengths to research her period drama and her authentic details are brought through in this amazing adaptation.

The animated series features direction by Tsuneo Kobayashi (The Twelve Kingdoms, Glass Mask OAV, Kurokami The Animation, Super GALS!), scripting by Mamiko Ikeda (Fruits Basket, Princess Tutu, Gravitation), music by Kunihiko Ryo (Yona of the Dawn, The Twelve Kingdoms, The Story of Saiunkoku, Tegami Bachi, Fantastic Children) and production by Studio Pierrot (Fushigi Yuugi, Urusei Yatsura, The Twelve Kingdoms, Yona of the Dawn).

A little over 75% of the project funds will be used for the dub and updating of the source materials of the program to Blu-ray Quality, 15% will be used for the production of the materials, media, and packaging, and the remainder will be overhead, working capital, fees to run the project on the platform, royalties, and a little something for our hard working staff.

Your funds will go toward creating the best possible Blu-ray release that we can - one that you will be proud to have on your shelf. Our production team are anime fans and collectors themselves, and will be uncompromising when it comes to review and approval of the dubbed script, the dub tracks, the video quality, and the authoring.

The anime market has become very difficult in terms of licensing and costs, and production, especially of deep catalog and niche titles, has become much more risky. We love these shows, to be sure, but the market for them is certainly different. Fans in general are focused on simulcasts and more recent programs, and this creates more hurdles when making investments in older shows or programs with specific audiences.

We have lots of projects and programs that we would like to work on and bring to market in English, but because we are a smaller licensee, we have to be more conservative in our production decisions. We also aren't completely sure what the size of the audience is for dubbing of back catalog. So we received permission from our licensor to test this as a business model to see if it's something we might continue to use to bring titles to fans in HD and in English.

It's possible if this project funds we will likely continue with others.

The Nozomi team has over the years dubbed more than five hundred episodes of anime, and we are focused on creating quality programs. We want to make sure that you'll be able to, if you haven't seen the show before, fall in love with it, and if you have seen it, to fall in love with it all over again. Our greatest hope is that adding an English track to this program will let more people discover this amazing romantic tale.

One of our goals with this project is to stay true to the series nature and to hire actors who are native or can create the authentic sounding accents for their characters.

As our partner on this project, we have chosen to work with Joe DiGiorgi at Headline Studios as our director, who we have worked closely with as a director and a producer on a number of our titles, including ARIA, His and Her Circumstances, Comic Party, Boogiepop Phantom, The Third, amongst others. Joe has also handled many well known dubs from classic titles such as Record of Lodoss War, Genshiken, Queen's Blade, and Ikki Tousen. Headline Sound is based in New York City.

All of the production staff we'll be using to do the work have been involved with anime productions in the past, including the director, the producer, and all voice actors. Together with Joe, we wanted to bring together a creative team of seasoned anime pros who can produce a timely delivered, high quality dub within our budget constraints.

Most importantly, Joe is excited about working on this project and to welcome backers into the studio for video dubbing sessions and to provide behind-the-scenes updates on the dubbing process.

But can an American dubbing company really make an "authentic" British dub? And beyond that make one that sounds Victorian? To assist with this Rhiannon Ross will be working with Headline Studios as an advisor. She will be attending recording sessions in order to help ensure the authenticity of the English dialects used in the series. She'll be assisting any British or American actors who are cast in the roles to ensure that the proper dialect is used for their particular character.

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Further, respected dialect coaches Jim and Carolyn Johnson (accenthelp.com) have agreed to help with Emma as well. They'll be consulting on script adaptations, reviewing auditions, etc.

We think this campaign can be a great win-win for YOU and the anime industry as a whole. As a backer, you can know that your funds are bringing the VAs into the recording booth, and you’ll come out of the project with a fabulous dub on Blu-ray AND insights into the creative process (plus lots of Kickstarter-exclusive goodies!)

This is a Kickstarter Special Edition of the series. Once we have fulfilled all of the rewards, we will have a six month (or longer) holdback waiting period before we will release a regular retail edition to the public.

We will allow anyone who has pledged at least $1 to the Kickstarter campaign to buy select items during a slacker backer period through our website, essentially as after-funding for those with interest, but that will be cut off as production is completed.

For those who select options that don't include the Blu-ray itself, your rewards will be shipped as soon as the manufacturing of them is complete. Those who order options that include the Blu-ray, your rewards will be shipped along with the product when it is completed.

If you are confused on any tier, please send a message or post a comment, we're happy to help you! And the community will too!

An art book for the entire series! It will feature all of the material from the original booklets that came with the original Limited Edition Season 1 and Season 2 DVD sets, but it will be full-color and feature additional artwork not available before! Thanks to hitting one of the stretch goals, the book will be a hard cover edition!

You can add on the art book by "overpledging" for the tier you are currently pledged to. So if you are currently backing the House Maid Deluxe tier, for example, you would increase your pledge to include the cost of the art book. Then after the Kickstarter has completed, you will need to fill out the backer survey to indicate that this is how you wanted the extra funds to be applied. Maybe you just wanted to donate funds so that the staff and I could have an authentic British tea set? We just want to be sure.

The cost of the art book will be $60 for domestic customers and $80 for non-US customers. This price is inclusive of shipping. To add this to your tier, simply go into your account and click the "Manage Your Pledge" button. Then select "change your pledge" and increase the amount beyond the award that you have already pledged. So if you were a domestic backer choosing the House Maid Deluxe tier originally ($100), and your shipping was $18 (S) you would select House Maid Deluxe again but pledge $178. REMEMBER: The amount you enter will be the total amount pledged at funding.

This book will be exclusive to Kickstarter backers. Each backer will be limited to a maximum of 5 copies. This is to hopefully discourage the inevitable amount of the books that are going to end up on secondary resellers.

As the licensee, this Kickstarter project is being run by Nozomi Entertainment, the production division of Right Stuf, Inc. Any comments, commentary and posts will come from the producers of the show internally, from the cast and crew, and we will also be assisted by Ann Yamamoto of Pied Piper, who we have worked with on other Kickstarter projects, including ARIA, Time of Eve, and Skip Beat! You'll see our special begging appeal from the President and Dark Lord of Right Stuf as part of the kick-off video as well.

Yes, we will include both the new English Dubbed version as well as the Japanese with English subtitled version on the blu-rays when they are created. Please note the Blu-ray discs will be Region A only.

Risks and challenges

Nozomi Entertainment is a division of Right Stuf, Inc. We’ve been producing and selling anime since 1987. In the past (Pre-Kickstarter) we completed the industry’s first crowdsourcing project when we produced and created our first DVD project for Irresponsible Captain Tylor back in 2001. We also produce monthly releases of anime, most recently titles from the Gundam Franchise, Sound of the Sky, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and many more.

We have selected a studio to work with in order to complete the dubbing process, but availability for actors and the director could cause some delays. This studio and those involved all have experience in working on anime. In addition, should we reach stretch goals, it may take longer for us to produce the title and get it to the backers. All other production work will be completed in-house.

We already have all of the source materials required in order to do this production, and have the approval to do this Kickstarter project from the production committee. However, the project could be delayed due to the need to have certain approvals, especially for merchandise items, that are required. We’ll document in the ongoing project updates how the production and approval process works to be transparent about its status.

We may ask supporters to vote or help make decisions on certain items, which could also add time to the project and the fulfillment of rewards, only in that it may take longer to complete the work.

Should the project not fund we might not receive permission to create similar projects in the future.

We have fulfilled many Kickstarter projects for other companies, and one of our main business divisions does order fulfillment every day, so we do not anticipate any issues with getting materials to customers once the project is complete.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5 or more
About $5

Linguist

Show your support towards Nozomi's continued efforts to add dubs to great titles!

Pledging this tier helps not only contributes to getting both seasons of Emma dubbed, but also continues our track record to convince others to let us do more series in the future. Whether you are interested in Emma or not, this still makes a difference!

With this pledge, you will receive a special thank you message from the Right Stuf production team, a special "I love dubs" badge and the Official Backer Badge download! You will also be eligible for the slacker backer purchases post-campaign.

We hope to continue to make new dubs in the future that will make you happy!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10 or more
About $10

Page

Special thank you message from the Emma production team, Official Backer Badge download, beautiful digital Emma wallpaper files for your computer and for your mobile phone, and your name on the Emma Backer Wall!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $15 or more
About $15

Gatekeeper

Special thank you message from the Emma production team, Official Backer Badge download, beautiful digital Emma wallpaper files for your computer and for your mobile phone, and your name on the Emma Backer Wall! Plus - access to sneak peeks at the production process, clips, and more!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

Team NOZOMI

Don't really want to watch Emma, but definitely want to help Nozomi succeed in this project? This tier is for you! Receive a special e-mail thank you, and an exciting mystery bonus from RightStufAnime.com. (Value at least $20 or more!) Note: if you want to pledge on another tier and you still want to get this too, you'll need to have two Kickstarter accounts, or have a friend who can pledge this tier.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 55 or more
About US$ 55

House Maid (Early Riser)

Get in on the Kickstarter early and save! This tier contains the digital rewards, the exclusive Emma Japanese postcard set, and the Season 1 Blu-ray of Emma: A Victorian Romance. Pledge right away and save $5!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 60 or more
About US$ 60

House Maid

This tier contains the digital rewards, the exclusive Emma Japanese postcard set, and the Season 1 Blu-ray of Emma: A Victorian Romance. And, of course, our special thanks from the Emma production team! They will all have a glass of tea in your honor.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $95 or more
About $95

House Maid DELUXE (Early Riser)

For Collectors! Order early and save! This reward level includes a bunch of fantastic items for the collector in you. Not only do you get the new Emma: A Victorian Romance Season 1 Blu-ray, which includes the English Dubbed version in High Definition, but you also receive the digital items: the backer badge, the stunning wallpaper files, your name listed in the special thanks section on the Blu-ray itself. AND you great merchandise items: a special Japanese postcard set created exclusively by the producers in Japan, an exclusive Emma art card set, a special reproduction drawing from the original manga exclusive to the Kickstarter, Emma's Journal, and a high quality chipboard box which will hold the complete series. Again, order early and save $5!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
About US$ 100

House Maid DELUXE

For Collectors! Order early and save! This reward level includes a bunch of fantastic items for the collector in you. Not only do you get the new Emma: A Victorian Romance Season 1 Blu-ray, which includes the English Dubbed version in High Definition, but you also receive the digital items: the backer badge, the stunning wallpaper files, your name listed in the special thanks section on the Blu-ray itself. AND you great merchandise items: a special Japanese postcard set created exclusively by the producers in Japan, an exclusive Emma art card set, a special reproduction drawing from the original manga exclusive to the Kickstarter, Emma's Journal, and a high quality chipboard box which will hold the complete series.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
About US$ 100

Kitchen Maid 2

Not interested in any of the reward merchandise, but definitely want to get Emma on Blu-ray with the dub? And the Season 2 Blu-ray as well? This tier is for you! It includes only the Blu-ray sets and that's all.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 120 or more
About US$ 120

House Maid 2

Enjoy the entire Emma series plus - this tier contains the digital rewards, an exclusive Emma Japanese postcard set, and both Seasons of Emma: A Victorian Romance on Blu-ray. The entire staff of Nozomi & Right Stuf will have a drink in your honor to celebrate this wild ride towards success for this project. Said drink might be stronger than tea.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 150 or more
About US$ 150

Head Gardener

In honor of your pledge, and your service with her Majesty's Empire, you will be recognized! This tier includes all of the items from the $100 (House Maid DELUXE) tier, PLUS your name will be listed first in the special thanks, in BIG BOLD letters just like the newspaper headlines. (No, people in Victorian England did not have iPads to read the news.) Not only that, we'll provide a PDF version of the shooting script for the English version of the show!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 150 or more
About US$ 150

House Maid Deluxe 2

For Collectors! Season 2 of Emma will be yours along with everything in the original House Maid Deluxe pledge tier. You get both seasons of Emma on Blu-ray, with a fantastic dub and in High Definition, the digital backer badge, the stunning wallpaper files, and your name listed in the special thanks section on the Blu-ray itself. You will also receive the special Japanese postcard set created exclusively by the producers in Japan, an exclusive Emma art card set, a special reproduction drawing from the original manga exclusive to the Kickstarter, Emma's Journal, and a high quality chipboard box which will hold the complete series. Everyone loves boxes! And with this tier, your box will be completely filled with Emma wonderfulness.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 200 or more
About US$ 200

Porter

Looking for something stylish to remember your pledge by? Pick up this reward tier to include everything in the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, PLUS a special tote bag made in Japan just for the series. The porter will carry your luggage, but you might want to keep the bag for your travels around town to see the sights.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 200 or more
About US$ 200

Head Gardener 2

This tier contains everything in the House Maid Deluxe tier, as well as a PDF of the shooting script for an episode of Emma, and your name at the very top of the Blu-ray special thanks credit in a special section for our appreciation for your generous pledge! Everyone will know that you made this happen!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 250 or more
About US$ 250

Parlour Maid

Making sure important documents were authentic (and that they hadn't been opened) was very important in Emma's time. Pick up this reward tier to get everything in the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, PLUS a special personalized wax seal stamp to close your letter and make sure the recipient knows it hasn't been tampered with.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 300 or more
About US$ 300

Head Groom

Are you a completist and want to have everything Emma? This tier includes everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier PLUS a complete 5 volume hardcover edition of the English Emma manga series! See how the story began and was transformed into the series you'll be watching. (Emma would have had to see it as a play, as there was obviously no TV at the time..)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 300 or more
About US$ 300

Head Groom -

Are you a completist and want to have everything Emma? This tier includes everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier PLUS a complete 5 volume hardcover edition of the English Emma manga series! See how the story began and was transformed into the series you'll be watching. (Emma would have had to see it as a play, as there was obviously no TV at the time..)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 350 or more
About US$ 350

Head Groom 2

This reward selection gives everything from the Head Groom tier PLUS the Season 2 Blu-ray. You can finally know if the book is better than the movie. Or if they are both fantastic. We believe the latter.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 400 or more
About US$ 400

Gamekeeper

This tier includes everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier PLUS your Season 1 Blu-ray jacket will be signed by a member of the Japanese production staff! Fun fact: William Adams was the first Englishman to reach Japan in 1600, and become a samurai, under Shōgun Tokugawa.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 500 or more
About US$ 500

Groundskeeper

This tier includes everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier PLUS your Season 1 Blu-ray jacket will be signed by a member of the Japanese production staff! AND one of the US Voice Actors will record a voice mail message for your phone! Note: the telephone was invented in the late 1870s, so at the time of the show, Emma's probably never seen one.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 500 or more
About US$ 500

Valet

See the dub actually happen! This tier includes everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, your name at the top of the Special Thanks list, your Blu-ray jacket will be signed, AND you'll get to see exclusive videos of the English recording sessions! It's the sort of thing that might have been in an HG Wells novel (When the Sleeper Wakes [1899])!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 750 or more
About US$ 750

First Footman

Stand and be recognized! This amazing reward tier includes everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier - Your Blu-ray jacket will be signed, you'll get to see exclusive videos of the English recording sessions, AND, rather than having just your name listed in the special thanks, you will have a personalized shout out from one of the voice actors on the Blu-ray!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 900 or more
About US$ 900

Journeyman Painter 2

Cels for animation used to be all hand painted - a time consuming process. In this tier, receive everything in the $150 (Head Gardener) tier - PLUS, a set of 10 animation cel reproductions from Emma: A Victorian Romance. These beautiful pieces of artwork are a treasure for anyone's collection. PLUS Season 2 of Emma on Blu-ray too!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 900 or more
About US$ 900

Master Painter

This tier contains everything in the $850 (Journeyman Painter tier) except that along with the 10-cel set, you will also get 3 additional cels that aren't in the Journeyman tier! These last 3 cels were even more rare, so we had to make another tier for them!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Housekeeper

Super fans who pledge this tier will get everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, plus one of the ACTUAL shooting scripts from the show signed by the voice actors, a special video shout out on the Blu-ray, AND an amazing Emma: A Victorian Romance cosplay outfit made especially for you by Jez Roth (costume designer for Cirque de Soleil and more). Due to the time to personally craft this item, only 2 of this tier will be made available.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 1,000 or more
About US$ 1,000

Lady's Maid

Have Emma on display when you pledge this tier, which will include everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, plus one of the actual shooting scripts from the dubbing process signed by the voice actors, a video shout out - AND an amazing Emma 1/7 scale PVC figure that has been long out of production even in Japan! Due to the rarity of this item, only 3 of this tier will be made available.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,400 or more
About $1,400

Sketch Artist

Dedicated fans of Emma’s author, Kaoru Mori, won’t want to miss out on this tier. Those who pledge this tier will get everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, plus one of the ACTUAL shooting scripts from the show signed by the voice actors, a special video shout out on the Blu-ray, AND a hand drawn original shikishi completed by Mori-sensei herself! Note, due to Mori-sensei’s schedule this tier will be limited to 4 people, and delivery by a trackable and insurable shipment method will be required as each shikishi will be absolutely one of a kind.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

Governess

Looking for something truly special to celebrate Emma? This tier will include everything from the $150 (Head Gardener) tier, plus one of the actual shooting scripts from the dubbing process signed by the voice actors, a video shout out, AND an official, ultra-rare, fully-articulated Japanese Emma doll by Azone International with an entire set of extra clothes. This item was produced in very small quantities in Japan and is almost impossible to find. Only 1 of this tier will be offered. Signature delivery will be required for this item as it can't be replaced.